I have been a Cubs fan since 1948, so I have seen some poor baseball. However, it is time to release Marmol for the Cubs' good and also for his own good. Bill A., Newburgh, Ind.

I don’t really see that happening, at least not until they exhaust all possibilities of trading Marmol. It would be a hard sell, of course, since Marmol has a 5.68 ERA and 1.816 WHIP, averaging a career high 8.5 walks per nine innings. Believe it or not, Dan Haren, the former Angels’ starter the Cubs were going to acquire for Marmol last November, is 3-3 for the Nats with a 5.01 ERA and 1.454 WHIP. The Cubs would’ve had to pay Haren’s $15.5 million option and also part of Marmol’s $9.8 million, so actually they came out better off, financially speaking, for pulling back on the deal at the last minute.

Been a Cubs fan since 1952. In those 60 years the team has had only 17 winning season records. I keep hearing Cubs management referring to the team starting to play baseball the "Cubs Way." As someone who's been covering the Cubs for so many years, what do you think that means? Paul C., Niles

It’s code for “Wait till 2015.”

We keep hearing about how the Cubs need the renovations of Wrigley to improve the club. Really? How come the Cardinals, Reds and Brewers spend less money and win more? Habib, Geneva, Ill.

The Cubs needed lights to improve the club in the 1980s. They needed bleacher expansion, the Captain Morgan Club, the Toyota sign and the Noodle to improve the club in the 2000s. The simple answer is that whenever the Cubs want to increase revenues, they insist they need the changes to win. It’s time proven.

I know the PCL is considered by most analysts to be an "extreme hitters" league. Do you think that has anything to do with the titanic struggles of promising Cubs prospects once they get to Wrigley? Do you think Theo has any plan to switch leagues in order to get a better sense of the Cubs' minor leaguers' true ability? Tom S., Westport, Conn.

Anthony Rizzo played in the PCL and he seems to be OK. I don’t really think a player’s major league career is affected by which Triple-A league he plays in, and I don’t expect Theo to ask to switch leagues.

When the Cubs talk about the future, and they discuss who they want to build the club around, why is Darwin Barney never mentioned? Barry, Carmel, Ind.

Just a hunch, but I believe his .304 career on-base percentage may have something to do with that. Barney is a great fielder, but has yet to establish himself as a major league hitter. If he can do that, he will be part of the so-called “core.”

Paul, how much of the Cubs' desire to move from WGN is strictly for cash considerations and how much of this is being pushed by Major League Baseball? It would seem to me that MLB would want the Cubs on a regional channel to force fans to buy the MLB.tv or Extra Innings package. From a marketing perspective, the wider audience that WGN offers would allow for greater merchandise sales and generate greater secondary income than a regional network would. Chip W., Fort Jennings, Ohio

I’m sure MLB would like the Cubs off WGN for the reasons you stated, but the primary reason is the Cubs believe the deal with WGN is tremendously undervalued and have been waiting to jack up those rights fee since Ricketts took over. Whether that will be on WGN remains to be seen. The Cubs feel no real loyalty to WGN.

Is it possible that the greedy organization wants to make all the upgrades before upgrading the product on field so they can realize the full $$$$ with a winning team? How can they possibly raise my season-ticket prices? Shame on me for buying them. It is sad when my kids curse me for raising them Cubs fans. Steve O., Lake Zurich

I understand your pain. Kids can say the darndest things. Anything is possible, except the idea of ticket prices going down any time soon. You may want to think of ditching your season tickets if you feel that way -- perhaps give the money to your kids if they agree to stop cursing you.

I have been a Cubs fan all my life, 51 years. Is there any possible way that Major League Baseball will do the right thing and just eliminate the Cubs franchise and replace it with that of the Tampa Bay Rays. What we have now is not working and it’s not going to work. Jeff C., Powder Springs, Ga.

I’m guessing Bud Selig would nix your idea, though I’m old enough to remember when Chicagoan Bob Irsay bought the Los Angeles Rams in 1972 and traded the franchise for the Baltimore Colts. I don’t imagine the Rays owner, Stuart Sternberg, would want to the Cubs franchise, though he’d probably like to swap Tropicana Field for Wrigley Field.

Is it just me or does Tom Ricketts sound like a spoiled brat who always has to have his own way? The rooftop owners have invested money in their businesses, too. Presumably they have contracts with the Cubs. I'm not a Jumbotron enthusiast but Ricketts' posturing is intensely irritating. Jaime, Universal City, Texas

No, it’s not just you. Ricketts does seem to believe he is owed something by the city because the Cubs contribute so much in amusement tax revenues. I’m sure the owners of the other sports teams in Chicago contribute a great deal too, but you never hear any of them incessantly bring it up. Have not seen the contract to know if the rooftops have the right to sue. But the Cubs had no complaints with the agreement in 2004, when former Cubs president Andy MacPhail said: "We look forward to a long and productive partnership.” Oops.

As of today (May 3), Matt Garza has spent a total of 126 days on the DL since he became a Cub three seasons ago and only 17 days on the DL in his career prior to becoming a Cub. Has he changed the way he works out and prepares for a game since he came to Chicago? Or has he kept the same routine? Because he obviously needs to change something so he isn't always on the DL. What do you think? Cristy, San Francisco

Cubbie Occurrence.

I am sure Carlos Marmol is a fine person. And is a good closer-- at the AA level. It has to be demoralizing to the team having him lose so many otherwise well-played games. When he comes in, my wife and I just turn off the TV. It's too gut-wrenching to watch. We are starting to warm up to the Kansas City Royals, where we can watch all their games and they don't just give them away. Douglas P., Randolph, Neb.

Not sure what your question is, but good luck with the Royal.

I am 61 and a lifelong Cubs fan. Despite the fact that Nate Schierholtz is hitting .305 and has an OPS of .908, and David Dejesus is hitting .278 with an OPS of .866, Dale Sveum insists on following statistics on righty-lefty matchups and substituting/pinch hitting Dave Sappelt (.182 OPS .461) and/or Scott Hairston (.108 OPS .525). That is a misuse of statistics, and Sappelt and Hairston often prove it by getting yet another out. Statistics simply do not apply to individuals, only to large groups and large samples. Why does Sveum insist on following this mythic righty-lefty matchup nonsense when he has better hitters? Phil K., Madison, Wis.

This is the biggest criticism I hear about Sveum, other than sticking with Marmol. I think the Cubs have so much computerized information on matchups that Sveum probably feels obligated to go by the numbers if he wants to keep his bosses happy. Sappelt was demoted, so we’ll see if Ryan Sweeney, who was cut by the Red Sox, can contribute a bit more offensively. I don’t know when he’ll play, since they have two lefties in DeJesus and Schierholtz and Sveum is not going to bench Soriano.

Why do they keep running Marmol out there? Are they trying to make us insane? He has no trade value now and his stock drops with every bad outing. Should they just cut him? Mike Tyra, Fort Hood, Texas